Home »
News & Trends »
Featured Articles

Food Trends: June 2011

This month we look at foraging the forest for ingredients, the grains that are making gains and other trends.

by Denise Shoukas

Web Users Talk Healthy Foods

More consumers in the U.S. than ever before are online talking about fresh and unprocessed foods when it comes to healthy eating, and a vocal segment of these health enthusiasts are helping to identify trends on the next wave of hot ingredients and spices. Since 2003, Nielsen has been analyzing online consumer conversations about food and health and wellness on more than 400 social networks, key blogs and forums. According to its research, one key trend health-minded consumers care about is fresh citrus fruits and flavors, and exotic fruits like kumquats and satsuma a seedless fruit of Japanese origin that touts high levels of vitamin C and fiber. In order of importance, here’s what these consumers are talking about most: satsuma; purple potatoes; Jerusalem artichokes; kumquats; ambrosia herbs; Gruyère; celeriac; holy basil/tulsi; garam masala; and anise.

Drink to Your Health

Introductions in the natural soda segment are making a splash. The $3 billion natural and organic beverage category took a blow during this economic downturn but, according to market research firm Mintel International, is seeing a gradual recovery of about 5 percent per year. By 2012, Mintel expects this market to reach nearly $4.1 billion in inflation-adjusted figures.

Currently popular are products like Q Tonic, the 2010 sofi™ Gold Winner for Outstanding Cold Beverage, made with real Peruvian quinine and sweetened with organic agave. Another newbie is OPA! Originals Ouzon (pronounced oo-zone), which incorporates the licorice notes of Greek liquor ouzo in a non-alcoholic soft drink that includes only pure cane sugar and certified organic flavoring.

Eating the Forest

The Douglas fir has graduated from being an exclusive ingredient for daring chefs to the latest flavor stirring home cooks, according to a new report by the Center for Culinary Development (CCD), published by Packaged Facts. Now common folk can pick it up at farmers markets. It’s all part of a larger trend of foraging.

Even if you aren’t craving a bit of tree in your tiramisu, many foraged goods—like dried gray morels, fiddlehead ferns and fresh Mousseron (Fairy Rings) mushrooms—are now more widely available thanks to wineforest.com. Forager Connie Green has been selling “gathered goods” to fine restaurants (including The French Laundry) for decades and her website lets amateur cooks experiment with wild foods. To learn more about these wild foods, take a look at The Wild Table, Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes, a guide and cookbook co-authored by Green.

Private-Label Market Set to Double

Private-label products tend to make gains during economic recessions, but then lose this progress as the economy recovers. This time, however, private-label foods are set to double their global market share to 50 percent by 2025, according to a new report from Rabobank Group, a food and agriculture industry financer to the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. The major difference is quality perception. According to Mintel International, 44 percent of consumers believe quality has improved in private labels in recent years.

July is Horseradish Month

Horseradish Month horseradish might not be the first thing retailers think about when stocking up for summer, it is a great merchandising item for sandwiches and barbecues. July is the perfect time to offer recipes, prepared food options and an expansive selection of horseradish products. You can draw on established items, such as Creamy Horseradish from Beaverton Foods, which the company began offering to local delis 81 years ago, or try some of the newer sweet-and-spicy products on the market like Pineapple Horseradish Sauce from The Sandy Butler, and Jansal Valley’s Maple Horseradish Mustard from Sid Wainer & Sons.

Nano Bricks

Scientists from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, have developed an eco-friendly transparent coating that improves the strength and performance of plastic food packaging. Called nano-bricks, the film—which looks like bricks and mortar under a microscope—could help foods and beverages stay fresh and flavorful longer, according to researchers, who presented the information at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

The film is less than 100 nanometers thick (thousands of times thinner than a single human hair); when layered over existing plastic packaging, it provides an improved barrier to oxygen. For example, if manufacturers apply the new coating to plastic soda bottles, the material could slow the loss of carbon dioxide gas and keep sodas bubbly for months or even years.

Food Sciences Flourish

Good news for the future of the food industry. Undergraduate food science programs at colleges across the U.S. are showing substantial enrollment increases after a period of decline. In 2000, the total number of students graduating with B.S. degrees from IFT-approved food-science programs was 463. In 2004, according to an article in Food Technology, the number decreased to 319. But change came quickly with the popularity of The Food Network, culinary superstars and the local-food movement: The number of graduates from IFT-approved food-science programs in 2010 rose to 591.

Grains Make Gains

Specialty Grains Millet, a gluten-free nutritional powerhouse, is primed to become a mainstream grain, if Colorado agricultural officials have their way. And beer may be their means to expanding millet’s reach. In Colorado, where more than 60 percent of all millet in the U.S. is farmed, officials hope to take over a portion of wheat’s healthy market share, which totals several billion dollars annually. While the cereal grain is only a $50 million crop for the U.S. at this point, officials hope to boost sales, and have turned to local brewer Colorado Malting Company, which plans to malt the millet for beer companies as a substitute for barley or wheat. The increased availability of this ingredient just may inspire a whole new line of beers, while increasing millet’s exposure.

This article was featured in the June 2011 issue of Specialty Food Magazine.
See other articles in this issue here: June 2011 Specialty Food Magazine.